Security concerns haunt annual Jakarta Fair

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

International trade fairs and exhibitions to be hosted by the Jakarta Fairground in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, are likely to see less participants and exhibitors due to heightening political tensions prior to the general elections.

The new owner of the fairground, tycoon Siti Hartati Murdaya, said on Monday that foreign participants would be highly affected by security concerns.

She did not provide details on the number of foreign participants the venue welcomed annually.

The Fairground comprises office buildings on a 251,000-square- meter plot and has hosted the annual Jakarta Fair since the 1990s. Prior to then, it was held around the National Monument (Monas) in Medan Merdeka Square.

Hartati asserted that her company would improve the Fairground management.

"We are in the process of recruiting professional event organizers to promote exhibitions and trade fairs that will attract more foreign participants," she said, adding that the management would also renovate several rooms and construct extra halls in the Fairground buildings to lure more visitors.

Hartati said the management had already appointed PT Adi Parking to operate the Fairground parking lot.

"In the past, parking also fell under the management's responsibility. We plan to leave the parking management to a professional company, but we'll try to keep the fee low," she said, as many visitors to the Fairground were from the lower income bracket.